Telangana: Delay In Land Acquisition Hits Rs 17,000 Crore Hyderabad Regional Ring Road Project

Telangana government's ambitious Hyderabad Regional Ring Road project has been delayed due to land acquisition hurdles.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha on 02 January, the Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari informed that the state government is yet to deposit the committed 50 per cent share of the land acquisition (LA) cost with the centre.

As such the Road Transport Ministry is unable to proceed with the issue of notification under Section 3D of the National Highways Act,1956 for acquiring the land for the project.

The Regional Ring Road (RRR) project has been included under Bharatmala Phase-I, with undertaking and willingness from the state government of Telangana, for bearing the cost of shifting of obstructing utilities and sharing half of the land acquisition cost.

Two Corridors

The 340 km, four-lane access controlled expressway project around Hyderabad, the state capital, was approved by the centre in 2021.

The RRR Project has two components namely Northern part and Southern part.

The 158-km northern part will connect Sangareddy, Narsapur, Toopran, Gajwel, Pragnapur, Jagdevpur, Bhongir and Choutuppal. The Rs 7,561 crore project notified by the Ministry as ‘NH 161 AA’ is to be totally funded by the centre and another Rs 1,961 crore is to be spent for land acquisition.

The 182 km southern part of the RRR will connect Choutuppal, Ibrahimpatnam, Kandukur, Amangal, Chevella, Shankarpally and Sangareddy. The project is expected to cost Rs 4,322 crore with another Rs 1,748 crore for land acquisition.

The project is expected to be a game changer for Telangana, as the RRR will cover 40 per cent of the population and link 20 towns with the national highways.

While it was conceptualized in 2001, the entire project was completed in 2016 after many delays.

While the total land acquisition cost for the RRR is expected to be around Rs 4,000 crore, the Telangana government needs to bear 50 per cent of the cost, and the rest would be borne by the centre.

The Road Transport Ministry has already assured to complete the RRR “within three years”, if the Telangana government completes the land acquisition quickly.